Snowspeeder
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| First appearance | The Empire Strikes Back |
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Canon:
Legends:
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| References | Starwars.com Databank |
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Legends:
A snowspeeder is a Rebel Alliance vehicle featured in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and several books, comics, and video games in the Star Wars Expanded Universe and also in Atari game cartridges in the 80's. Snowspeeder models and replicas have been merchandised by several companies.
During production of The Empire Strikes Back, designer Joe Johnston conceived a ship that combined the body of an X-wing and the cockpit of the Y-wing. However, this design was scrapped for the T-47, which featured no elements from previous craft. Johnston's designs for the Snowspeeders have influenced later Star Wars designers, such as Tommy Lee Edwards.
The models were built in three different scales by Steve Gawley, Charlie Bailey, and Mike Fulmer of ILM, with the smallest (20 inches) used for motion control photography, and the largest (2½ feet) for hero and pyrotechnic shots. All models included motor-controlled flaps to imply maneuverability, and the largest version also possessed motor-articulated crew Several full-scale props were built in London for the hangar, cockpit, and speeder crash scenes.
In the 2015 film Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the First Order uses the Light Infantry Utility Vehicle, also known as "LIUV" or "First Order snowspeeder", a landspeeder-like speeder designed for troop transport on the icy Starkiller Base.
In The Empire Strikes Back, Rogue Group, led by Commander Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), pilots snowspeeders against Imperial AT-AT walkers during the Battle of Hoth. When their blasters prove ineffective the Rebel pilots turn to tripping the walkers with the snowspeeders' harpoons and tow cables.
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Wikipedia